Tell Sadiq Khan our priorities

The Barnet Society is taking full advantage of an opportunity to influence the re-drafting of the London Plan by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan – and local residents are being urged to add their voice to the case we are making.

Issuing a new statement of intent on his plans for a better London is one of the Mayor’s priorities, and he has asked for views and comments on six policy areas.

Re-drafting of the plan will be completed in the first half of next year and Chipping Barnet residents are being invited to give their comments on the statement prepared under the guidance of Robin Bishop, the Society’s head of planning and the environment.

Some of the key proposals in our submission:The Society agrees that there should be more development in town centres within the London boroughs in line with the Mayor’s drive to ensure they become “hubs for retail and community activity”.

But the Society recommends that retail and housing developments in town centres should be carried out to a “suitable scale and sufficiently high quality”.

New orbital links should be considered linking up the London Borough of Barnet with other adjoining authorities. Tram or light rail lines would be preferable, going across the Green Belt if necessary, in order to link new destinations to the east or the west.

New enterprise zones for creative workers who find it difficult to work in London are another of the Mayor’s initiatives to get the Society’s backing. Innovative financial models have been promised to provide support. The Society believes such proposals could help attract new creative enterprises to Chipping Barnet, historically the home of innovative start-ups such as movie-making and medical equipment.

Action is needed to increase the meagre and dwindling supply of social housing in Chipping Barnet through the development of grant-aided rented accommodation and housing ownership.

The Society welcomes the Mayor’s determination to protect the Green Belt and other designated green spaces, not least because the Society was founded 70 years ago specifically to protect such land in and around Chipping Barnet. His support is especially helpful now that pressure to build is probably greater, and planning policy weaker than when we were founded.

If you would like to comment on the Society’s submission please email the chair of the Society’s planning and environment committee, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than December 8.